Frame clamping device



a United States Patent Rindge Dewey H Keagle Bruns Parrott 1 H1948 Runge 9/1964 Waschevski FOREIGN PATENTS 2/1933 Germany Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner-J. Franklin Foss Attorney-Leonard H. King 248/ 3 16X 248/488 248/ 3 16X 40/ 1 25 248/316X 248/316 248/488 ABSTRACT: A bracket that is secured to a wall and a clamp that is relatively movable with respect to the bracket provide the means for releasably holding an article such as a frame, picture, sign or the like. Means are provided for urging the clamp into engagement with the top of the article.

. 1 FRAME CLAMPING nizvlcs vides improved article clamping means having the aforemen tioned characteristics. In its broadest aspect the present invention comprisesa bracket that is fixedly secured to a first support surface such as a wall. A clamp is mounted on bracket and is relatively movable with respect thereto so that a portion of the clamp can engage the top edge of the article. Means are also provided for urging the tripping'portion of the clamp into a position such that it releasably holds the articIe. Several alternative embodiments of this basic concept will be described in detail hereinafter. The bottom edge of the article rests on a second support member that is secured to the wall. The second support for the bottom edge of the article may also be a table or counter top. i

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provideirnproved low cost means for clamping' an article on a wall or like support. I i

It is another object of this invention to 'provide a clamp as described above that is substantially universal as regards the size of the article.

, the bracket 12. In this embodiment Clamping means 24 is mounted on the bracket 12 and is relatively movable with respect thereto. From the drawing. it will be seen that the clamp means .24 is comprised of a substantially flat base wall 26, a pair of spaced sidewalls 27 and a' lip 28 extending outwardly from the base wall 26 proximate the top thereof. Further, an L-shaped slot comprising a verti cal section 30 and a horizo'ntal sectioh 32'at-the bottom of the vertical section 30 is formed in the base wall 26. Finally, a tab 34 is formed proximate the bottom edge of the clamping .means 24 and extends in a direction opposite to that of the lip The clamp assembly 10 is completed by having the ends of a spring 36 hooked to thetab 34 formed at the bottom of the clamping means 24 and to the tab 20. formed at the bottom of of the invention the spring 36 is a tension spring.

It will be seen particularly in FIG. 2 that with an article such as a frame or a sign supported on any suitable second support member such as a bracket 38 that extends outwardly from the wall W, the springf36 will normally urge the lip 28 downwa rdly to a second position shown in phantom outline and intoengagement with the top edge of the article. Thus, it is a relative- I ly simple matter to position and clamp thearticle and, when it Still another object of this invention is to provide a clamp as described above that may be readily installed and which is simple to operate. i These andother features, objects and advantages of the invention will, in part. be pointed out with particularity and will;

in part, become obvious from the following more detailed description of the invention taken in'conjunction with the accompanying drawing which forms an integral part thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION 05 TI-IE DRAWING In the various view of the designate like parts.

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of one embodiment of this invention; Q

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view taken along line 2-2 of 1 FIG. 1; 7

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view similar to FIG. 2 illus- DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EM'BQDIM uT Referring now to the drawing, the basic concept of the drawing, like reference characters,

present invention is shown in FIGS. land 2. In one 'embodiment, the clamp assembly 10 that forms the present invention is comprised of a bracket 12 having a base'wall l4 and a pair of. spaced sidewalls 16 extending from the base wall 14. Screws 18, passing through the base wall- 14, secure the bracket 12 to a first support surfacesuch as a wall W (FIG. 2). The base wall 14 is also provided with a first tab 20 extending outwardly proximate the lower edge thereof an'da secondtab 22 extending outwardly therefrom proximate the top edge.

. The bracket 12 may be made from a suitable material-such as aluminum or steel by a stamping operation wherein the sidewalls 16, the apertures for screws l8 and the tabs .Zlland 22am formed with a minimum. numberof operations. Alternatively, a rigid moldable plastic may be used.

will then pull the clamping means downwardly to the second position wherein the lip 28 of theclarnping means 24is in engagement with the top of the article. Thus, it will be appreciated that the present invention can accommodate a wide range of article sizes. Although the terms "vertical" and horizontal" have been used to describe the orientation of the slot portions 30 and 32, it should be understood that this is for convenience only. The device is not limited to use in the orien tation illustrated but may be positioned in .any manner required since the action of the rhearis to -rnove the clamping means is positive and does not depend on the force of gravity, Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown-an alternative embodiment to the present invention. The basic elements, name ly, the bracket and the clamp means,- slidably mounted thereon, are substantially thesar'ne as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. However, it is to be noted that the two changes made are the elimination of the lower tab 20 and. the inclusion of a compression spring 40 in place of the ten;

sion spring 36. In FIG. 3,'the outwardly extended tab 22a of i the bracket 12a is provided with aprojection 42 formed in any suitable manner, for example, during the stamping operation. Similarly, the rearwardly extending lower lip 34a of the clamping means 240 is also provided with a projection 44 that is spaced ly opposed to and in coaxial alignment with the projec tion 42; Theertds of the compression spring 40 arern'ounted on the projections 42 and such that the spring 40, in the absence of the action of any locking means such as the slot portion 32, tends to urge the clamping nieans 2421 in a downward direction and into engagement with the top edge of the article to heldgWhen not in use, the clamping means is held in the position shown in FIG. 3 by the cooperation of the tab 22a and the horizontal slot portion 32 (not illustrated).

FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 illustrate modifications of certain poitions of the embodiments shown in either FIG. I, FIG. 2 6% FIG. 3. Turning first to F IG. 4 it will be appreciated that unless some restraining rneans is provided, the clamping means 245 can become disengaged from the tab 225. To avoid any a'c-' cidentaldisengagement, an auxiliary tab 46 is formed afier as: sernbly. The auxiliary tab. 46 is dimensioned and is positioned so as to overlay the flat base wall 26b of the clamping means,

24b regardless of what portion of the slot 30b or 32b receives the tab 22b. It will be appreciated that the vertical slot portion material forming the tab 22b. The height of the horizontal slot portion 32b need not be substantially greater than the width of the tab 22b. This. of course, is opposite to the configuration shown in FIG. 1. With the present modification the auxiliary tab 46 will always be in a position over some portion of the flat base wall 26b. For convenience, the clamping means 24b is shown in FIG. 4 without sidewalls. Stiffening ribs, which will be referred to hereinafter, may be used in place of the sidewalls to provide the required rigidity.

In FIG. 5, an alternative arrangement is shown for holding the clamping means 240 in its upper position. In this modification the L-shaped slot shown in FIG. I and also described in connection with the FIG. 4 is eliminated. Instead, tab 340 is provided with a downwardly extending auxiliary tab 47 and a cooperating portion 48 is bent away from the base wall 140 of the bracket 12c. When the clamping means 240 is in its upper position, the auxiliary tab 47 is placed in engagement with the bent portion 48 in order to resist the pull of the tension spring 360. When it is desired to engage the clamping means 24c with the top edge of the article, the auxiliary tab 47 is raised slightly and moved in a direction away from the base wall 14 so as to be disengaged from the bent portion 48. The tension spring 360 then pulls the clamping 240 into its second, lower position in engagement with the top edge of the article. Alternatively a compression spring could be used, as shown in FIG. 3.

An alternative embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. The principle of operation for this lastmentioned embodiment is the same as in the previously described embodiments. That is, a clamping member is mounted on a base member for relative movement with respect thereto between a first position and a second clamping position. The clamping assembly 50 of this embodiment is comprised of a bracket 52 having a base wall 54 and two spaced-apart sidewalls 56. A plurality of holes 58 formed in the base wall 54 provide means for mounting the bracket 52 on a support surface such as the wall W shown in FIG. 2. Proximate its lower end the bracket 52 is provided with a tab 60 in which is formed a clearance hole 62 (FIG. 7). The clamping means 64 of this embodiment is a plate comprised of a base wall 66 and two spaced sidewalls 68. Proxim'ate its top edge, the base wall 66 is provided with a central tab 70 having a clearance hole 72 formed therein (FIG. 7). Proximate its bottom end, the base wall 66 is provided with a lower tab 74 in which is formed a threaded opening 76 (FIG. 7

It will be noted in FIG. 6 that the bracket 52 and the clamping means 64 are substantially U-shaped and are oppositely facing. It will also be noted particularly in FIG. 7 that the tabs 70 and 74 extend from the base wall 66 in a direction towards the base wall 54 of the bracket 52. When the clamping means 64 is in its second or lower position, as shown in phantom outline (FIG. 7). the tabs 78 will releasably engage and clamp the top edge of the article.

A screw 80 extends through the opening 72 formed in the tab 70 and is threadably engaged in the threaded opening 76 fonned in the tab 74. The lowermost end of the screw 80 has a reduced diameter portion 84 that passes through the opening 62 formed in the tab 60 of the bracket 52. Any suitable retaining means such as a clip or retaining ring 86 can be used to loosely capture the reduced diameter end portion 84 of the screw 80 with respect to the tab 60. It will be appreciated that, since the screw 80 is freely rotatable in the openings 62 and 72 and is rotatably engaged in the threaded opening 76, rotation of the screw 80 will cause translation of the clamping means from its upper position that is illustrated in solid outline in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 to the second lower position that is fragmentarily shown in phantom outline in FIG. 7. The sidewalls 68 of the clamping means 64 are positioned close enough to the base wall 54 and the sidewalls 56 of the bracket 52 so as to prevent any substantial rotation of the clamping means 64. This arrangement. in effect. makes the clamping means 64 a traveling nut that is limited primarily to axial movement. Thus, it is necessary only to rotate the screw 80 to either clamp or unclamp the article.

In the embodiments discussed hereinabove, the brackets and clamping means have been illustrated in a U-shaped form.

This construction provides for substantial rigidity but it should be understood that other arrangements may be used for the same purpose. For example. the sidewalls may be eliminated and in their place stiffening ribs may be'formed in the respective base walls when the members are stamped. Further. in the embodiments of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the U-shaped movable clamping means is shown nested within the U-shaped rigidly secured bracket. This particular arrangement is not es;- sential and the relationship may be reversed, if desired, whereby the U-shaped rigidly secured bracket is nested within the U-shaped movable clamping means.

While two different types of elements are illustrated as the means for moving the clamping means from one of its positions to the other of its positions, it will be appreciated that still other arrangements are possible. For example, an overcenter toggle arrangement could be used but this would undoubtedly add to the cost of the device. Similarly, an eccentrically rotatable member such as a cam could also be used but this would complicate both the construction and operation of the device and would again add to the manufacturing cost.

From the foregoing, it is evident that a relatively low cost device has been provided for releasably clamping an article with relation to a wall or like support. The embodiments described and illustrated provide a device that is substantially universal as regards the size of the article. In addition to being relatively inexpensive to manufacture, the device of this invention is readily installed without special skills or tools and is very simple to operate.

There has been disclosed the best embodiment of the invention presently contemplated. It is to be understood, however, that various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Iclaim:

l. A device for releasably clamping an article, such as a frame, a picture, a sign or the like with respect to first and second support surfaces, said device comprising:

a. a bracket having a mounting portion adapted to be secured to the first support surface;

b. clamping means mounted on said bracket for relative movement with respect thereto, said clamping means being movable from a first position to a second position;

c. means for moving said clamping means from one of said positions to the other of said positions whereby in said second position, at least a portion of said clamping means is in engagement with a portion of the article and the article is thereby held between said clamping means and a second support surface; and

d. holding means for releasably maintaining said clamping means in said first position, said holding means being defined by a portion cut out and bent forward from said mounting portion.

2. The device in accordance with claim I, wherein said holding means is further comprised of a slot in said clamping means, said slot having two sections, one of which is offset from the other, the portion of said mounting surface that is cut out and bent forward being positioned in said offset slot portion when said clamping means is in said first position.

3. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said holding means is further comprised of a tab on said clamping means, said tab being in engagement with said portion of said bracket that is cut out and bent forward when said clamping means is in said first position.

4. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said bracket and said clamping means are U-shaped one of said last two mentioned elements being nested within the other.

5. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said portion of said clamping means in engagement with the article is a lip and said means for moving said clamping means is a spring extending between said clamping means and said bracket.

6. The device in accordance with claim 5, wherein said spring is a tension spring.

7. The device in accordance with claim 5, wherein said ans is a compression Stat n 8. The device in accordance with claim 1, further including means retaining said clamping means on said bracket. 

